Cash for crash fraudster ordered to pay £100,000 for human trafficking

A human trafficker, who has previously been convicted for being involved in a ’cash for crash’ scheme, has now been ordered to pay over £100,000 worth of assets for smuggling 87 people into the UK.

Mohammed Sangak, 31, from Kent, hid the immigrants in second-hand furniture while sneaking them into the country, as reported by The Daily Mail.

The Iraqi Kurd, himself a former asylum seeker, is believed to be the prime organiser of seven ‘smuggling trips’ across the channel.

Last year, Sangak was convicted for being involved in a ‘cash for crash’ scheme which was believed to have earned him over half a million pounds.

He was heavily involved in 21 ‘staged or invented’ crashes, which resulted in thousands of pounds in payouts to cover vehicle damage, personal injury, medical costs and solicitors’ fees.

However, hundreds of driving licences, passports, MOT certificates and hand-drawn maps of accident locations were found at his home. Meaning the total number of cases and value could be much higher than predicted.

As a result of the trafficking, it is believed that Sangak pocketed almost £300,000.

At the hearing, Judge Philip St. John-Stevens said that both conspiracies were so serious that consecutive jail terms of eight years for human trafficking and two years for the fraud had to be imposed.

He said: “It is clear to everyone that individuals trafficked into this country may well be, and often are, vulnerable and can be preyed upon by criminal organisations,’ said the judge.

’Often the way they are conveyed into this country is fraught with danger, hidden behind cover loads that in itself is a dangerous enterprise.

“In addition to the position of vulnerability of the individual is the issue of national security. Given the present climate, to facilitate individuals into this country who avoid border controls or official scrutiny has the potential of undermining or at least compromising national security and the seriousness of that cannot be underplayed.

“You were responsible for overseeing the operation. You were a prime organiser. There was a significant financial gain for yourself and there was a significant and sophisticated degree of planning given the numbers involved.”

Sangak, who is also known as Rameo Mohammed, was granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK after he fled his home in Kirkuk, northern Iraq, in 2001.

His family was said to be in danger as his father worked for the government.

Sangak was told at the confiscation hearing his assets available to be seized totalled just over a third of that amount.

These include a Range Rover worth £70,000, a Mercedes valued at £30,000, and £4,976 in cash.

Sangak was therefore ordered to pay £104,976 within three months, or serve a further 18 months behind bars in default.

Four other men involved in the human trafficking operation were jailed for a total of more than 14 years.